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Tue, 31 Mar 2015 20:27:20 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.1Silver and bronze for Diggins, Gregg at World Champshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/silver-and-bronze-for-diggins-gregg-at-world-champs/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/silver-and-bronze-for-diggins-gregg-at-world-champs/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 16:11:33 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35065FALUN, Sweden – In heavy falling snow, the U.S. Ski Team’s Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg took advantage of fast skis to finish second and third at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 10K individual freestyle race. Gregg, wearing bib three, skied a balanced, even race to finish before a snowstorm set in on the rolling five-kilometer course. Diggins, a later starter, began the race evenly, and skied into the silver medal position with a gutsy final three kilometers. Charlotte Kalla, of host country Sweden, took the gold medal by a commanding 40 seconds.

The result marks the best finish ever by the U.S. team at the World Championships.

“We’ve never had U.S. girls podium at a distance event at the World Champs and to have two? It’s incredible,” Diggins said. “We talked at the team meeting last night and I said, ‘Why not me?’”

The race was among the least predictable events held this season on the World Cup circuit. Snow was forecast for start time but at the actual start, there were just tiny flakes which created little impact on the event. As the race went on, however, the heavy snow moved in, hindering the later skiers. In addition, the favored Norwegians missed the wax, which meant all five had slow skis. Of the top-20 finishers, only the winner Kalla — also the Olympic gold medalist in the 10K freestyle at Sochi — was an odds-on favorite. The U.S. took advantage of great work from their service team to capitalize on the conditions.

“This was a goal of mine since before the season, but I went out today believing anything was possible and I skied like I wanted to win a medal,” Gregg said of the effort. For Gregg, it was her first result inside the top 10 at the international level.

“The energy on the team has been really amazing all week,” Gregg continued. “Even if results weren’t what we wanted earlier in the week, we just have stayed positive and today we took advantage of that energy. I’ve known I could ski here because I’ve watched other women (on the team) do it. Today was my day.”

The U.S. packed all starters into the top 15: Liz Stephen finished 10th and Kikkan Randall posted her best distance results of the season in 15th place.

Diggins and Gregg have a history that draws back Diggins’ junior days in Minnesota. “We were at training camps from when I was a junior,” Diggins explained at the event press conference. “I’ve looked up to Caitlin for a long time and that makes this so incredible.”

Gregg responded to her teammate, “Jessie had just as much energy then as she does now.”

Release courtesy of USSA

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/silver-and-bronze-for-diggins-gregg-at-world-champs/feed/0VIDEO: Red Bull ski race behind motorcycleshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 13:15:41 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35060The 2015 Red Bull Twitch ‘n’ Ride skijouring competition took place in the Latvian medieval town of Cesis and gathered almost 300 truly reckless race participants. Getting pulled behind a motorcycle on skis is hard enough, but add the difficulty level of this expert track, and then you really have a party. Mixing motorcycles and ski racing – what could possibly go wrong? Crashing was imminent, but the glory lasts forever… we presume.

Video courtesy of Red Bull

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/feed/0VIDEO: US Ski Team gets funky just in time for World Champshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-us-ski-team-gets-funky-just-in-time-for-world-champs/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-us-ski-team-gets-funky-just-in-time-for-world-champs/#commentsWed, 18 Feb 2015 22:30:24 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=34955Things got a little funky for the U.S. Ski Team in advance of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, as the gang took to the streets of Europe for a full-on dance-off. Don’t believe us? Just watch.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-us-ski-team-gets-funky-just-in-time-for-world-champs/feed/0US Cross Country Championships wrap-up in Michiganhttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-cross-country-championships-wrap-up-in-michigan/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-cross-country-championships-wrap-up-in-michigan/#commentsTue, 13 Jan 2015 13:49:39 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33865In a week playing theme to cold temperatures and constant snowfall, the distance mass start days were no exception Thursday at the U.S. Nationals in Houghton, Mich. A challenging 10-kilometer loop paired with slow snow and changing waxing conditions crowned Kris Freeman (Team Freebird) and Rosie Brennan (APU) as national champions in the 30- and 20-kilometer races, respectively.

In the men’s race, a pack of about 40 stayed together through the first lap, gradually breaking up into groups of 20 by the second. In the third, a group of about 15 skied through the lap lane, Freeman waiting patiently in the middle.

“Because of the cold temperatures and very slow snow, I knew that it would be nearly impossible to ski away from the pack early. I went to the front a few times and pushed the pace but the group always came together again at the bottom of the next hill,” said Freeman.

The 10K course at Michigan Tech starts with long downhills and gradual climbs for the first six kilometers, ending with four kilometers of climbing and 800 meters of uphill finish. Freeman stayed in the pack until the final 2.5 kilometers, at which point he knew he would have to break the pack in order to avoid a finishing sprint in the slow snow.

“With 2.5K to go, I made my move and put about 10 seconds on the guys following me over two short steep hills,” he said, noting that they caught back up to him on a short downhill. He pushed over a rise to regain his lead, and suffered the consequences for the final 200 meters. His lead shrunk as he got closer to the line, but it had been enough for him to cross in first.

On the women’s side, Brennan took her second victory of the week, finishing five seconds ahead of Caitlin Patterson (CRGP) and Eliska Hajkova (BNJRT). Like the men’s race, the slow was cold and slow for the women, creating a pack race in a field that usually breaks up in the first kilometers of a distance race.

“We very much stayed in a pack until the final few kilometers,” Brennan said. “Chelsea [Holmes] and I both tried a few times to get away, but it was just too slow to make that work out very well.” Holmes (APU) ended up in fourth place, but was third for the national championship because Hajkova is not an American citizen. Homes and Brennan led much of the race, until the final kilometer where Brennan broke the pack.

“I had to believe in my ability to finish hard and wait until the right moment to go and, fortunately, [APU Coach Erik] Flora was in the perfect place and said the perfect things to get me going when I needed to.” With 400 meters left in the race, Brennan pulled ahead and kept her lead to the line. After leading through the slow snow for 20 kilometers, she proved that she had the fitness and the gumption to lead to the line.

In the juniors races, which were shorter distances to match those at World Juniors, Ian Torchia (NMU) and Katharine Ogden (SMS) each claimed their second junior titles of the week. That evening, they were named to the World Juniors team, along with Julia Kern (CSU), Alayna Sonnesyn (UVM), Kristen Bourne (NMU), Vivian Hett (NMU) and Hailey Swirbul (Aspen Valley SSC) for the girls and Thomas O’Harra (APU), Peter Holmes (UNH), Evan Weinman (Middlebury College), Thomas Bye (Michigan Tech), Ben Hegman (UVM).

Saturday marked the final day of racing for the event. A skate sprint rounded out the four-race series, where the classic sprint champions from earlier in the week repeated their victories. Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance) and Brennan took double sprint wins for the championships, making Brennan a three-time national champion for 2015 and markedly raising the prospects for both skiers in their bids for the World Championships in Sweden come February.

Unlike earlier in the week, the sprint day started with little to no precipitation, but temperatures continued to hover around zero degrees Fahrenheit. Blackhorse-von Jess qualified first for the men, with a margin of 13 seconds, while Brennan qualified third, two seconds off of Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg). Despite the cold snow, the track was hard and stayed fast, producing much quicker times than the classic sprint earlier in the week.

“This was more like a ‘normal’ sprint in the sense that the pace varied, positions were jockeyed for, and in the end winning came down to speed and power over 30 seconds rather than raw endurance over four minutes,” said Blackhorse-von Jess, who sat in behind Reese Hanneman (APU) through his semi final and A final. Hanneman eventually finished third with APU teammate Tyler Kornfield in second.

Brennan won both her quarter and semi final before going on to take the final, finishing two seconds before Gregg with Jennie Bender (BSF) crossing in third. Brennan credited her skis and her motor in getting her to the line first, but noted that the sun, which appeared for the first time on the trails that week, didn’t hurt either.

Brennan is the current SuperTour leader and will travel to Otepaa, Estonia and Rybinsk, Russia for her first World Cup starts since 2013. In the meantime, the U.S. Ski Team will announce its World Championships team on Jan. 14, a team both Brennan and Blackhorse-von Jess hope to have qualified for with their performances this week.

“Coach Ben [Husaby] and I built my plan in the late summer with a certain schedule in mind, specifically how long I’d be racing on the domestic circuit and when and where I’d be heading to Europe,” said Blackhorse-von Jess, who hasn’t heard yet whether or not World Championships is on the table for him. “If I can lock up the SuperTour Sprint title, then of course I will be at the two Period 4 World Cups in March ready to have my best races of the season!”

With the end of the U.S. Championships also came the final naming of the U23 World Championships teams. On the men’s side, early week winner Kyle Bratrud (NMU) will be joined by Benjamin Saxton (SMST2/USST), Patrick Caldwell (Dartmouth/USST), Scott Patterson (APU) and Logan Hanneman (UAF). On the women’s side, Annie Hart (SMST2), Joanne Reid, Annie Pokorny (SMST2), Paige Schember (SVSEFGT) and Deedra Irwin (Michigan Tech) will make the trip. The U23 Worlds will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in February.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-cross-country-championships-wrap-up-in-michigan/feed/0Stephen finishes historic 5th in Tour de Skihttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/stephen-finishes-historic-5th-in-tour-de-ski/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/stephen-finishes-historic-5th-in-tour-de-ski/#commentsSun, 11 Jan 2015 21:16:47 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33806VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Liz Stephen powered up the Alpe Cermis hill climb to finish fifth overall in the seven-stage Tour de Ski Sunday, the best result ever by an American in the multi-stage event.

“This is my favorite event of the year,” Stephen said of the Tour de Ski’s final 9k hill climb. “I made it my goal to finish in the top five.”

Stephen began the day in sixth overall, beginning with a trio of skiers placed just behind her. She started slowly, initially ceding time to that group over the first rolling four kilometers but then upped her tempo once the climb began in earnest. Her split time for the stage was the fourth fastest of the day.

“Liz has had a very strong year of training and exhibited top shape all summer and fall, and now we get to see all of the hard work pay off,” described head coach Chris Grover. “I know there are more big results in store from her this season.”

In addition to finishing fifth overall, Stephen was the top non-Norwegian athlete on the results sheet from the 50k stage race. Norway swept the top four podium places, as Marit Bjoergen won the overall women’s event. Norwegian Martin Sundby won the overall men’s race.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/stephen-finishes-historic-5th-in-tour-de-ski/feed/0Athletes dig deep for US Nationals classic sprintshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/athletes-dig-deep-for-us-nationals-classic-sprints/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/athletes-dig-deep-for-us-nationals-classic-sprints/#commentsFri, 09 Jan 2015 13:53:41 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33765Postponed due to cold weather on Monday, the second day of racing at U.S. Nationals in Houghton, Mich., brought classic sprinting experts together to take on the 1.6-kilometer course at Michigan Tech on Tuesday. Constant snow and wind demanded that the toughest athletes dig in, which is what winners and national champions Rosie Brennan (APU) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) did in the women’s and men’s races.

Brennan started the qualifier as the highest ranked skier, meaning she would take to the course first, virtually grooming the track as she skied. As more starters went out, the track became faster and faster, but Brennan’s time held, keeping her at second by the end of the preliminary race.

“The prelim was a little intimidating because I did have to plow through some snow without someone in front of me,” she said. “I will say that when I got to the finish lanes I looked up and saw the clock was over five minutes and was a little surprised no one had caught me, but it turns out that is actually how slow the course was.”

Blackhorse-von Jess faced similar conditions, as racing ended for a short period between the men’s and women’s prelims. His coaches and the technical delegate were skiing in the tracks for him at the start, hoping to speed up the course for the individual time trials.

“There were a couple of times I changed tracks to chase the best line and it was just so slow I had to get right back in the faster lane, but mostly it was about having a good plan, being confident enough of my fitness to stick to it, and when it came time to drop the hammer, to stomp on the gas and not let up,” said Blackhorse-von Jess, who also qualified second.

The snow progressed through the rounds, creating a slow course with times around four minutes for men and five for women. Brennan finished each of her heats in front, using her fitness and classic technique to her advantage while skiing the long course.

“I quickly realized that getting into one of the more skied-in lanes was important. I had some good skis that were allowing me to open a gap on the small downhill about half way through so I decided to run with it and push hard early on, up the hills, then relax the last part into the finish,” said Brennan, who had originally planned to stay more relaxed until the end. She finished first over APU teammate Becca Rorabough and Craftsbury Green Team’s Elizabeth Guiney.

Blackhorse-von Jess also abandoned usual sprint techniques to lead out the entire race, knowing that his fitness could carry him to the line. “There were really only two tracks in play out there, so I felt it out in the quarter final and realized I could work the race from the front without losing anything in the descent,” he said, noting that he had great glide in his skis.

“In the final when we hit the final climb, I got into my rhythm and started to pull away, I decided to just pin it and go for the win from there.” He finished first over Benjamin Saxton (SMS T2/USST) and Haakon Hjelstuen.

In the races for U23s and Junior World Championshiops, Benjamin Saxton (SMS T2/USST) took the top spot, while Anne Hart (SMS T2) finished fourth in the women’s race, stamping her ticket to Asia. Junior skier Hannah Halvorsen (Far West Nordic/Sugarbowl Academy) landed herself in the A final while Peter Holmes (University of New Hampshire) was the only male junior to qualify for senior heats.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/athletes-dig-deep-for-us-nationals-classic-sprints/feed/0Bratrud and Gregg take opening wins at US Nationalshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/bratrud-and-gregg-take-opening-wins-at-us-nationals/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/bratrud-and-gregg-take-opening-wins-at-us-nationals/#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2015 13:42:18 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33667The first race at the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships on the Michigan Tech trails in Houghton, Mich., set the precedent for what will be a week of cold, gritty racing certainly not bereft of impressive performances. Through the wind, snow and low temps of the Upper Peninsula, Kyle Bratrud (Northern Michigan University) and Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) became champions of Sunday’s 15/10K individual starts.

“Realistically, I was looking for top-10 splits, so when I got race leader splits I was really stoked,” said Bratrud, a U23 skier who won the race by 50 seconds over second-place finisher Kris Freeman (Team Free Bird) and Pat Caldwell (Dartmouth/USST) in third. Bartrud, a Midwestern collegiate skier who has raced the Michigan Tech trails during NCAA races, knew, by heart, which sections to push.

“My plan going into the race was to ski pretty aggressively and hopefully get favorable splits. I never actually got times, only place splits, so I figured that the race was tight and I was pushing hard where I knew I could make time and skiing controlled where it was really tough,” he said of holding race leader position for the entire contest.

He did so despite constant precipitation and plummeting temperatures that may have hampered other athletes. By the time the women’s race started at 1 p.m., the temperature hovered around three degrees with a -18 degree wind chill and falling snow. After a quick re-grooming of the course, the women were lined up ready to start the 10k.

Fresh off the early season World Cup Tour, local hero and ex-NMU skier Caitlin Gregg grabbed the win over APU’s Chelsea Holmes and Rosie Brennan. After a bout with illness on the road, Gregg took the time over the holidays to rest and restore her health and energy, which paid off in the slow snow on race day.

“I had some apprehensions about where my current fitness was so I figured I would go as hard as possible and try to hold on!” she said, like Bratrud, coming in with the local knowledge about the course. She also had know-how on layering for such a day, combined with her fitness and drive, which gave her confidence heading into the start gate.

“I am feeling pretty good coming off of the World Cup. They were by far the hardest competitions of my career to date and although my results weren’t much to write home about, I really tried to stay positive and look forward.”

These races double as U.S. Nationals and World Junior/U23 World Trials. On the junior’s side, Ian Torchia (NMU) and Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School) took the top junior spots at 15th and 6th, respectively. Kyle Bratrud took the top men’s U23 spot, along with the win, while Joanne Reid was the fastest women’s U23 with her top-10 finish.

Due to weather, the classic sprint has been postponed a day from Monday to Tuesday, while the distance mass start races and sprint freestyle remain on Thursday and Saturday.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/bratrud-and-gregg-take-opening-wins-at-us-nationals/feed/0US women steady in Tour de Skihttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-women-steady-in-tour-de-ski/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-women-steady-in-tour-de-ski/#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2015 12:30:05 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33665OBERSDORF, Germany – The seven-stage Tour de Ski entered its second day Sunday with the U.S. Ski Team’s women holding strong. Sadie Bjornsen and Liz Stephen finished 14th and 15th respectively, just two seconds from each other and 50 seconds from the podium in a 10k classic pursuit. Norwegians Petter Northug and Marit Bjorgen took the wins and the Tour lead.

“Things were out of this world great until about 5k. Conditions were icy, so I managed to wear my skis a bit too much on the downhills and began to struggle to find the bomber kick for the second half,” Bjornsen explained. “Fortunately, my skis were very fast, so I was managing to catch back up to the group after the slippery uphills. It was so much fun though to just feel strong and to find myself passing Justyna (Kowalczyk) at one point.”

Conditions have been fast and abrasive at the opening events in Obersdorf, the product of little snow and rain coming in early this week.

“The conditions were definitely tricky, as it poured rain and was super windy from noon yesterday until about 4 this morning so the organizers had a lot of work to do putting the course back together again after such a tough night. Banners were blown away, TV camera stands blown down and cameras broken beyond repair, not to mention bows and debris in the trail. It’s amazing that the race conditions were as good as they were today. Again, my skis were amazing and I was able to ski the way I wanted to,” said Stephen.

“Our wax techs have been killing it,” Stephen explained after her particularly strong classic leg. “I’m definitely happy with my result. It’s a long Tour still ahead and a lot can happen, but I am really happy with my first two stages for sure.”

Ski service through the week of racing is the “race behind the race” explained head coach Chris Grover.

“Part of the fun of the Tour de Ski is how tiring the event is not only for athletes, but also for the staff. As coaches and technicians, we’ll be working 16-hour days for nine days straight, and we will be exhausted by the end of the Tour. Staying healthy through this Tour is the race behind the race. The fun comes in the fact that there is no down-time for anyone during the Tour, and in watching how the athletes respond to the daily racing load.”

Racing continues on Tuesday with a freestyle sprint in Val Mustair, Switzerland.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-women-steady-in-tour-de-ski/feed/0Tour de Ski to kick off in 2 dayshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/tour-de-ski-to-kick-off-in-2-days/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/tour-de-ski-to-kick-off-in-2-days/#commentsThu, 01 Jan 2015 20:18:13 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33609The 9th edition of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski by Craft Sportswear gets underway in just two days. After a week of cold weather and snowfall, the FIS Tour de Ski venues are ready for the first season highlight.

Oberstdorf, GER
Only one week ago there was almost no snow in the Allgäu region. However, the weather gods smiled on the first-ever FIS Tour de Ski opener in Oberstdorf.

Almost 50 centimeters of natural snow has arrived in Oberstdorf and more is expected to come. On top of that, the Local Organizing Committee left nothing to chance and brought 1.500m³ of snow from surrounding areas and can produce additionally 800m³ with Finnish snow-making technology. Organizers will prepare the well-known 2,5 km course, which was used also in 2012 when the FIS Tour de Ski was in Oberstdorf the last time.

Val Muestair, SUI
The home town of the Cologna brothers will host a sprint free in the FIS Tour de Ski 2015, and the Organizers are reporting great snow conditions. In addition to the man-made snow for the competition course, natural snow has covered the valley in white.
The competition course will be finished on Saturday and will open thereafter. Only 20 minutes away from Tschierv, there is a 7 km lap prepared both for skating and classic.

Toblach, ITA
The Nordic arena in Dobbiaco/Toblach is also reporting good snow conditions. Unfortunately, Toblach has not received any natural snow and competition course has been prepared only with 30.000 cubic meters of man-made snow. The lack of natural snow forced the famous Cortina-Toblach point-to-point competition to be replaced with competitions in Toblach. The 5 km competition course was finished on Dec. 30.

Val di Fiemme, ITA
Val di Fiemme, the traditional host of the final Tour de Ski stages, has also had to deal with lack of natural snow. However, the LOC has produced sufficient amount of snow to prepare the competition courses. In Lago di Tesero a 2.5 km lap will be used for Saturday’s competitions. The Final Climb on Alpe Cermis is already covered with snow as well the Marcialonga course that is connecting the cross-country stadium and the bottom of the monster hill.

DAVOS, Switzerland – The story of Sunday’s U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team begins with improvement and ends with Norway. In the first three World Cup weekends, it was easy to focus on the strength of the Norwegian team – it has won more podium positions than every other country combined since the competitive year began.

In the freestyle sprint at Davos, Norway swept the men’s podium and took first through fifth in the women’s event in a display of winning so dominant, one Eurosport commentator remarked that the results looked like the Norwegian championships. The U.S. team, however, continued to close the gap.

“This was a really great day for Sophie Caldwell,” said head coach Chris Grover. “And while a lot of countries are scratching their heads on how to close the gap to Norway, we’re happy with our improvement for now.”

Caldwell, who skied into the heats of a World Cup sprint for the first time this year following an elbow injury in late summer agreed.

“My goal for the weekend was to improve on last weekend. So I was thrilled to not only improve, but to make it into the heats,” acknowledged Caldwell. “I know it’s going to take some time to get back to 100 percent after being injured, so I’m trying to be realistic and take it one step at a time. My heat was tough and I got pretty tired, but I was extremely happy just be there in the first place.”

Caldwell, who owns the strongest finish from an American woman at an Olympic Games, has her eye set on the World Championships in Falun. For now, the man-made loops of Davos will become familiar for her and the rest of the U.S. squad as the World Cup circuit will remain in the area. A lack of snow has forced a move of next week’s La Clusaz World Cup event back to Davos for the second straight weekend. This is good news for Ida Sargent.

“Today was my best skate sprint qualification ever and the first time I had qualified here in Davos so it was great to see those improvements. I obviously wanted to advance out of the quarters but it was fun being in the mix. We have another sprint here next week so I’m looking forward to another go!” exclaimed Sargent.

Grover echoed the love for Davos, “This is a home away from home and to have Ida and Andy Newell on form this weekend is very encouraging. While it was disappointing for Sadie to miss out by such a small amount and while Kikkan is not quite back to herself, we are heading in the right direction. We have athletes that are starting to come back a bit. I think we’ll be able to make a step forward a week from today.”

The changes in next week’s format and the return to the quick surface of Davos’ man-made loops are good news for American Simi Hamilton, who sat out this week with a cold.

Until then, the best skiers in the world are leaving very little room at the top. The American skiers have faced a few setbacks in the form of illness and injury but luck can change quickly on the World Cup as fortune favors the bold and perseverant.